Karen Y.
2/5
We had 2 groups of students who contacted this business at least 4 months in advance to reserve 2 units at 655 Kelton. We paid the reservation deposit and even called multiple times throughout the following months to check that everything was in order. We were told that we had a confirmed spot and that we would sign our lease in a few months. I remember hearing the exact words: "Relax, you don't need to worry about anything, we'll take care of it all."
One month before our intended move-in date, no lease was sent out, which is not extremely unusual for the area from what I know. However, we received a call from this company that they had somehow "miscalculated" the number of available units and that both of our groups no longer had a reservation at the property. This was only the first red flag.
This situation would not have been worth writing this review if they'd caught the mistake earlier, instead of months after first telling us that they had available units. Or, at the VERY least you would expect a professional business to then arrange for a comparable unit at another property. But, we heard nothing for one full week. During this time we had to go through the entire apartment search process again, wasting hours on calling, searching, touring, and applying - just weeks before our original move-in date. Finally, an agent of the company invited us to view an alternate property on a specified date (we had no idea they intended to offer us an alternate unit). When we arrived at this other property (10600 Wilshire), the staff claimed to have no knowledge of a tour on that day and no available units to tour. I should note that we had to drive 2 hours to view the property in-person, and confirmed multiple times with the agent that there was to be a tour on this date.
Amir Development returned our reservation deposit a full month after the first call (I should disclose that part of the delay was due to the potential alternate unit), and had the courtesy to misspell the recipient's name, causing a further delay in the return of our money. We count ourselves lucky for having escaped this situation with no loss of money.
The staff at the buildings themselves seem nice, the places were clean and spacious (at least when we toured; what do I know about the actual living conditions), the agents were not disrespectful, and the current tenants at the two locations seemed happy, hence the extra star. However, we feel that we cannot trust this company and would not recommend renting at 655 Kelton and 10600 Wilshire. Other properties are more pleasant to deal with.
In summary, this company cannot be trusted to:
* manage your money quickly and efficiently
* spell things correctly
* count their own number of available units
* communicate between agents and property staff
* keep promises
Westwood would benefit if this company worked on resolving these issues.
